
Ubatuba · Brazil · Reef
Pedra do Navio
A ship-shaped rock and a patch reef full of fish schools
Photo: Tony My Friend · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pedra do Navio is a huge rock that juts from the Ilha Anchieta shore in a ship-like shape, which gives the site its name. Close to the rock the bottom is shallow sand; further out the depth increases to a patch reef that gathers schools of many kinds of fish, within a 6 to 10 m profile.
Where it is and how deep
23.5280° S, 45.0533° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat moors near the great rock that projects from the Ilha Anchieta shore into the sea, in a mooring sheltered from south and southwest winds. Its suggestive shape gives the site its name, Ship Rock. Near the rock the bottom is sandy and shallow, and the whole site lies between 6 and 10 m.
Swimming away from the shore, the depth increases and the dive reaches a patch reef, a rocky shoal. This is the focus of the site: the reef concentrates several schools of many different fish species. The whole site lies inside the Ilha Anchieta state park, created in 1977, where fishing and spearfishing are prohibited around the island.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Ubatuba: Diving runs all year. The water is warmest, up to 27 °C, in February and March, and stingrays gather to mate at Pedra da Cachorra in September and October.
Sources
- Pontos de Mergulho - Omnimare — Omnimare
Photo credits
- A quiet sandy beach lined with trees and old white buildings, with calm green water and a forested headland beyond. by Tony My Friend, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Ubatuba
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Vertical wall to 23 m with a boulder chamber at its foot
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Jacks pass by and groupers herd sardines over the western reef
Stingrays mating in numbers in September and October
Butterflyfish, grunts and sergeant majors in abundant schools
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One of the few Ubatuba sites with pygmy angelfish
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